National asking hard questions about Hager’s appointment

National is questioning the appointment of journalist and peace activist Nicky Hager to a new reference group set up by the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, Cheryl Gwyn.

Ms Gwyn announced the formation of the group on Monday, saying she “stood in the shoes of the public” and wanted to know the sort of questions the public would ask.

Its chair is Suzanne Snively of Transparency International and Mr Hager is one of 11 members.

The group includes investigative journalist David Fisher and Paul Buchanan, an intelligence consultant.

National’s security and intelligence spokesman, Gerry Brownlee, says some members of the group are “far from objective”.

“Nicky Hager made his views about the Security Intelligence Service clear in a public talk in 2011 when he said the agencies should have been closed in the 1990s because ‘their main long-term anti-communist rationale was gone’,” Mr Brownlee said.

“He then questioned the legitimacy of their role in identifying and monitoring terrorist threats.”

Mr Brownlee wants to know whether Ms Gwyn discussed the appointments with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and whether it will have top secret clearance. End quote.

While they are looking at Hager’s appointment they should also look at the appointment of Achmed Zaoui’s lawyer, Deborah Manning, and also former Soviet ambassador and ‘diplomat’, Rouben Azizian. Quote.

Prior to becoming a full-time academic he had an extensive career in the Soviet and later Russian Foreign Service, which included assignments in Nepal (1972-1978) as Attaché and Third Secretary; Sri Lanka (1980-1985) as Second and First Secretary; and New Zealand (1991-1994) as Counsellor and Deputy Chief of Mission. End quote.

I’d say Five Eyes will be winding down, almost immediately with this bunch of commies, Marxists and anarchists now having some oversight on the SIS and GCSB. These appointments lack any semblance of balance. Where are the conservative voices or does Cheryl Gwynn think that those members of society shouldn’t be listened to?

I can only imagine the howls of outrage had National appointed me to a similar role.

As for Hager, he has constantly worked with criminals and enabled and facilitated attacks against our bravest and best. This is an outrage and one that Jacinda Ardern and Andrew Little have presumably overseen.

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As much at home writing editorials as being the subject of them, Cam has won awards, including the Canon Media Award for his work on the Len Brown/Bevan Chuang story. When he’s not creating the news, he tends to be in it, with protagonists using the courts, media and social media to deliver financial as well as death threats.

They say that news is something that someone, somewhere, wants kept quiet. Cam Slater doesn’t do quiet and, as a result, he is a polarising, controversial but highly effective journalist who takes no prisoners.